Iker Casillas has raised concerns about the ‘fairness’ of the Best FIFA Football Awards, questioning the outcome where Lionel Messi triumphed over Erling Haaland to claim the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year.
The ex-Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper, previously praising Messi as the greatest, observed as Messi was acknowledged for his performances from December 19, 2022, to August 20, 2023.
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Despite tying with Haaland at 48 votes, Messi secured the win due to receiving more first-place nominations from national team captains.
Harry Kane, Andy Robertson, Aaron Ramsey, and Jonny Evans collectively cast their votes for the Inter Miami forward.
Thierry Henry, Messi’s former teammate at Barcelona, graciously accepted Messi’s FIFA Best Men’s Player award and subtly criticized Spurs during the presentation.
Following Messi’s recent victory, Iker Casillas expressed apparent dissatisfaction, suggesting a critique of the FIFA Best awards.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the Spaniard wrote: “You create some nice prizes and you are taking them away by not doing things fairly. ‘The Smile’ more like. Anyway, good night!”
FIFA has now unveiled the complete vote tally, revealing that Messi ranked Haaland as his top choice.
Haaland, who set a Premier League record for most goals in a season, scored 36 goals in the league and became the quickest player to reach 28 goals in the Champions League at the age of 23.
In October, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola endorsed Haaland for the Ballon d’Or, although Messi went on to claim his eighth golden ball.
“The Ballon d’Or has to be two sections,” the Spaniard said. “One for Messi, and after look for the others. So, Haaland should win – yes. We won the treble and he scored 50 million goals.”
Guardiola added: “The worst season of Messi is the best for the rest.”
Meanwhile, Messi awarded his second-place vote in the FIFA Best standings to former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe, with World Cup winner Julian Alvarez securing the third spot.
